The “Work It” study examined the impact of a novel arthritis work retention intervention. Results demonstrated that the intervention was effective for preventing job loss over time. Presenters will review the trial results, pose discussion points, and discuss challenges for moving the intervention into implementation.

The BOOST exercise study tested the effect of a telephone-based intervention to promote adherence to exercise in a sample of adults with osteoarthritis. Results will be presented and discussion will focus on challenges and opportunities for developing technologies to affect behavioral change.

We invite Boston area colleagues to join us for the live presentation followed by a reception on Boston University’s Medical campus Talbot building. Space is limited, so please register below if you plan to attend in-person

We are pleased to announce that a manuscript describing results from ENACT’s work retention study, Efficacy of a Modified Vocational Rehabilitation Intervention for Work Disability (the “Work It” study), was recently accepted for publication in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.

The Work It Study evaluated whether a job barrier identification and solution generation process delivered by trained occupational and physical therapists minimized work disability among at-risk people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions. Epidemiological research suggests that approximately 33% of people with chronic rheumatological and musculoskeletal conditions are unemployed within 10 years of diagnosis, thus this question is of extreme importance for people with these conditions.

The “Work It” study found a significantly lower rate of job loss for the group that received the therapist-delivered intervention, compared to the group that received the control condition (printed materials on job retention). Given the high rate of job loss among persons with arthritis, the practical impact of such an intervention on job retention could be substantial.

Congratulations to Aileen Ledingham, PT, MS, PhD who became the third doctoral fellow to complete ENACT’s training program curriculum and be awarded her doctorate in Rehabilitation Sciences.

Dr. Ledingham began her doctoral studies after years of clinical experience in physical therapy working with patients across the age spectrum. Her experience as a practitioner and practice manager both domestically and internationally gives her a unique perspective within the field of rheumatological rehabilitation.

Her dissertation, titled “Promoting Exercise Adherence among Adults with Knee Osteoarthritis: A New Look”, consisted of two studies nested in the BOOST clinical trial on exercise adherence among people with knee osteoarthritis. One study looked at fear of movement and the second explored subjects’ perspectives on performance of strength training exercises, use of telephone technology, and adherence to exercise. She hopes that her findings will lead to new information for practicing clinicians to support their patients with knee osteoarthritis to adhere to exercise habits.

We look forward to Dr. Ledingham’s contributions to the field in years to come. Congratulations Aileen!

ENACT Director Julie Keysor, PhD, PT, will serve as co-director for the recently funded Mobile and Electronic Health Affinity Research Collaborative. This inter-disciplinary collaboration seeks to conduct state-of-the art research and training in mobile health (mHealth) and electronic health (eHealth) to improve the health of underserved populations across the lifespan.

Dr. Keysor is also Principal Investigator for one of three pilot projects collecting data to build effective mHealth and eHealth applications. Dr. Keysor’s project, “Development of a Novel e-Health App for Knee OA Exercise Adherence”, will explore user preferences regarding features of a mobile application to support adherence to physical activity programs among people with OA. Based on what is learned from this pilot project, investigators will develop a prototype and intervention program followed by user testing.

Dr. Keysor will present results from “Work It”, her recent clinical trial investigating an intervention to address work barriers. The presentation title is “The work experience survey for rheumatic conditions (WES-RC): Evidence and applications” (Tuesday 11:30am – 11:55am).

The presentation will be part of a session on employment interventions for people with arthritis, titled “Staying at work: Work assessments and rehabilitative interventions for people with Inflammatory Arthritis.” Join Julie and the other the presenters on Tuesday Apr 25 from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM!

The ARC is an interdisciplinary collaboration that brings together researchers from across Boston University—including colleagues from the School of Medicine, School of Dental Medicine, and College of Engineering—to conduct research in mobile health (mHealth) and electronic health (eHealth) to improve the health of underserved populations across the lifespan. The project will also conduct training activities at the university designed to enhance the competencies of researchers interested in mHealth and eHealth and to support the development of interdisciplinary research collaborations.

Dr. Keysor is PI for one of three pilot projects included in the ARC initiative to build effective mHealth and eHealth applications on the basis current, evidence-based research. Keysor’s project, “Development of a Novel e-Health App for Knee OA Exercise Adherence,” will develop features of a new mobile application to support adherence to physical activity programs among people with knee osteoarthritis (OA), a group among whom physical activity levels are notoriously low. Based on this feedback, investigators will develop a prototype and intervention program followed by user testing.

Julie Keysor, PhD, PT, and PI of the “Work It Study” trial, will present “Efficacy of a Work Disability Prevention Program for People with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Conditions: The Work It Randomized Controlled Trial”, where she’ll discuss main outcome results from the study. Rehabilitation therapists (physical therapists and occupational therapists) delivered a novel intervention addressing work-related barriers and solutions among adults with chronic rheumatological and musculoskeletal conditions who were at risk of work loss due to their health. This approach was previously shown to be effective when delivered by vocational rehabilitation counselors and this study could lead the way for a broader range of therapists to intervene to prevent work disability for a population that is at high risk of work loss. This session is scheduled for Saturday, February 18th at 8 am.

In addition, ENACT pre-doctoral fellow Aileen Ledingham, PT, MS will present her poster “Adults with Knee Osteoarthritis: Perspectives on Telephone Technology to Support Adherence to Exercise”, an ancillary qualitative study to ENACT’s BOOST trial. Mrs. Ledingham received internal funding from Boston University to explore the perspectives of participants in the BOOST adherence trial regarding the technology used in the study. Ms. Ledingham’s work may lead to novel ways to promote adherence to physical activity programs. The poster session is on Thursday, February 15th from 1-3 pm.

To address this challenge, Dr. Baker extended our community programming initiatives by bringing the evidence-based BOOST exercise program to the members of the church to help them acquire a self-sustaining option to stay active during bad weather. Dr. Baker led one session per week for 4 weeks and then used some mHealth technology to support the interim sessions to encourage participants to develop confidence in both doing and leading the exercises. The group continues to use their BOOST training along with regular walking activity and anticipates that it will take them through the winter!

Peoples Baptist Church was recently a featured “FitChurch” in a Boston Black Ministerial Alliance video, where their accomplishments were touted as a model for other churches, with a goal of being replicated nationally in the religious community. Congratulations to Peoples on this well-earned recognition!

Part of the mission of ENACT’s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center grant is to contribute to the future of rheumatological research by supporting doctoral students to obtain advanced degrees in rehabilitation science. In addition to tuition support, ENACT doctoral fellows assist in ongoing ENACT research and receive rigorous, interdisciplinary mentoring. Two ENACT doctoral fellows have completed their training and are now working in the field.

Molly Vaughan, PhD, DPT, completed the doctoral program in April 2016 and began working as a Research Associate on ENACT’s Walkability Study, a collaboration with the University of North Carolina’s Thurston Arthritis Center funded jointly by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Arthritis Foundation. Molly recently accepted a position with RTI International as a Research Public Health Analyst where she will be working on post-acute care setting outcome measure development and standardization as part of the Impact Act of 2010.

We look forward to the contributions of these scholars over the coming years! See more of our fellows’ work in the newsletter publications summary.

Keep a look out for upcoming webinars where we’ll disseminate findings from our 2-year randomized controlled trials: 1) Efficacy of a Modified Vocational Rehabilitation Intervention for Work Disability (the “Work it Study”), and 2) Can computer-based telephone counseling improve long-term adherence to strength training in elders with knee OA? (the BOOST study).

In the Work It Study, we evaluated whether a job barrier identification and solution generation process delivered by trained occupational and physical therapists minimized work disability among people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions who were at risk of work loss over the upcoming few years. This study addresses an extremely important outcome for people with chronic rheumatological and musculoskeletal conditions, with estimates showing approximately 33% of people with these conditions are unemployed within 10 years of diagnosis.

The BOOST study investigated if a remote interactive technology intervention could improve adherence to a strength training program over 2 years in people with knee OA more than an automated message to encourage adherence. The efficacy of strength training to impact pain and function for people with knee OA is well-established, but less than 15% of individuals over age 65 report doing any strength training and poor long-term adherence has been observed in other trials. An effective approach to encourage adherence to strength training activity could be helpful for this population.

Once the manuscripts are accepted and in press, we will host webinars to share our results. Stay tuned! We think we have important findings for the field and welcome discussion with our colleagues.

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The contents of this project were developed with funding from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant 90RT5009-01-01). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The views provided herein do not necessarily reflect the official policies of NIDILRR nor imply endorsement by the Federal Government